Printing-press.



Patented June 24, I902.

J. L. FIRM.

PRINTING PRESS. (Application filed Apr. 1, 1901.

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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(Application filed Apt. 1, 1901.)

2 Sheeis Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH L. FIRM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOSS PRINTINGPRESS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PRINTING-PRESS.

SI'EGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,189, dated June24, 1902.

Application filed April 1, 1901.

T0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. FIRM, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and Improved Printing-Press, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in printing-presses by which arotary press is enabled to successfully print a character of work notusually undertaken thereon-namely, that in which different parts of thework vary widely in the quantity of ink required, as where illustrationsand text'are used together, as in magazine-work.

My invention comprises the novel features which will be hereinafterdescribed, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure l is a sectional elevation of my press. Fig. 2 is a plan Viewthereof with the web broken away at one point to show the arrange mentof the forms on the cylinders. Fig. 3 shows the slitters which may beused to divide the web after printing. Fig. 4 shows the method offolding the product;

In my present invention I employ an upper and a lower deck eachcontaining two printingcouples composed of a form and an impressioncylinder and conductthe web from one deck to the other, so that thesuccessive impressions given the web are produced alternately byprinting-couples in different decks, the form -cylinders having formssecured thereon to cover substantially only half their surface, theforms alternating both circumferentially and longitudinally of thecylinders with substantially equal blank spaces and two cylinders beingrequired to perfecteach side of the web. I do not herein claim, broadly,the use of forms so arranged upon the cylinders, as the same is thesubject-matter of an application, Serial No. 26,688, filed by me August13, 1900. The press shown in said application differs from that hereinshown in having a singleimpression-cylinder, which is employed in commonby both formcylinders of a deck and in conducting the web in contactwith both form-cylinders of a deck before leading it to the other deck.

In the form of press shown herein the upper deck consists of the twoimpression- Serial No. 53,828. No model.)

cylinders I and 1 located side by side at the center of the deck, theform-cylinders F and Filocated outside of the i m pression-cylinders,

and the inking mechanisms 0 and C at the end of the deck, and the lowerdeck consists of the impression-cylinders I and 1, formcylinders F and Fand inking mechanisms C and C similarly arranged. The two decks areconnected to turn together, as by the gears 100, 101, and 102.

' The web leads from a roll A over a guideroller between the firstprinting-couple, consisting of form-cylinder F and impressioncylinder I,then across to the other or lower deck and through the secondprinting-couple, consisting of the form-cylinder F andimpression-cylinder I and then upward to the upper deck, passing betweenthe impressioncylinders I I and I 1 then through the thirdprinting-couple, composed of theformcylinder F and impression-cylinder Ithen downward to the lower deck and through the fourth printing couple,consisting of formcylinder F and impression-cylinder I. The formsf uponthe form-cylinders are arranged,

as shown in Fig. 2, so as to alternate with blank spaces f ofsubstantially equal size, both circumfer'entially and longitudinally ofthe cylinders, so that passage of the web through one printing-coupleprints only onehalf of one side thereof, the other half being printed byits complementary printing-couple, which is so arranged as to print uponthe spaces left blank by the forms of the first couple. Thus the secondprinting-couple completes the printing of the first side of the web andthe fourth printing-couple completes the printing of the second side ofthe web. After the web has been printed on one side and before it startsacross to the upper deck an offset web B, which is inserted in the formof a roll, is associated with the printed web andincontactwith-theprintedsidethereof. This offset web passes about the.impression-cylinders I and I with the printed web and between theprinted web and the cylinders. Both webs lead over the guide-roller 2and are then temporarily separated, both, however, leading to thefolding mechanism, but too by a diflerent course, so that the printedweb is cut and the offset web is not cut. The

printed web leads to the cutting-cylinder D of the folding mechanism, bywhich it is severed into the proper lengths, While the offset web leadsdirectly to the folding-rollers 5 and 6, passing between the same alongwith the severed and folded web. The cutting and folding mechanism,consisting of the cylinders D and E, rollers 5 and 6, and the mechanismcarried thereby, as well as the folding cylinder and rollers e, 7, and18, are the usual type of rotary folders-such,,for instance, as areshown in'United States Patent No. 658,209 issued to me September 18,1900-and as their particular construction forms no part of my presentinvention and is, moreover, well known in the art a full description isdeemed unnecessary. The printed web in its passage from roller 2 to thecutting-cylinder D may be acted upon by slitters 4 and roller 3 todivide itinto several narrow webs. After leaving the first rotary folderthe two webs may lead to a second rotary folder consisting of cylinder 6and rollers 7 and 18, where the severed sections of the printed web areagain folded. The folded papers or signatures are then taken care of bythe spiderP and apron Q in the well-known manner. An additional foldingcarrier may be added to further fold the the paper, if desired. Afterpassing between the rollers 7 and 18 the offset web is conducted aboutthe second folding mechanism and the paper delivering mechanism by meansof the rollers S, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, its direction of movement beingindicated by the arrow-heads, and then passes between the rollers 7 and18 a second time, but on the opposite side of the printed papers orsignatu res. The offset web then continues over the same course asbefore until it reaches the roller 14, and then by means of rollers 14,15, 16, and 17 it is carried about the second rotary folder and isdelivered to the roller 18, where it again meets the printed signatures,

passing between rollers 7 and 18 with the signatures. The offset web isthen passed over turning-bars 20, by which it is led out to one side,where it is wound up as roll B.

The above-described manner of employing an offset web in combinationwith rotary folders and the mechanism employed are not herein claimed,as they are made the subject-matter of an application, Serial No.42,621, filed by me January 8, 1901.

If desired, the printed web may be led to the folding mechanism over therollers 22 and 23, thus avoiding the slitters 4.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- I 1. A printing-press having two superposeddecks, each deck consisting of two impression-cylinders in the centerand a form-cylinder at each end, each form-cylinder having forms securedthereto to cover substantially half the surface of the cylinder, eachform being adjacent both circumferentially and longitudinally to a blankspace of substantially equal size.

2. A printing-press having two superposed decks each consisting of twoprinting-couples composed of a form-cylinder and an impression-cylinder,means for leading a web in succession first through the printing-couplesat one end of each deck and then between the pair ofimpression-cylinders in each deck and then through the printing-con plesat the other end of each deck.

3. A printing-press having two superposed decks each consisting of twoprinting-couples composed of a form-cylinder and an impression-cylinder, means for leading a web in suc cession first through theprinting-couples at one end of each deck and then through theprintingcouples at the other end of each deck, said form-cylindershaving forms thereon which are adjacent both circumferentially andlongitudinally thereof to substantially equal blank spaces, the secondcylinder'print ing on the same side of the web as the first cylinder andin the spaces left blank by the first cylinder.

. 4. A printing press having two superposed decks each consisting of twoprinting-couples composed of a form-cylinder and an impression-cylinder, means for leading a web in succession first through theprinting-couples at one end of each deck and then between the pair ofimpression-cylinders in each deck and then through the printing-couplesat the other end of each deck, and means for conducting an offset webwith the printed web while passing between the impression cylinders andthrough the second pair of printing-couples.

JOSEPH L. FIRM.

lVitnesses:

H. L. REYNOLDS, CHAS. J. RATHJEN.

